Fosun splashes out billions of yuan in luxury tourism property

Fosun has splurged nearly RMB 11 billion on building Atlantis Sanya, a high-end resort featuring 807 apartments and 197 villas which will appeal to global investors.

Chinese conglomerate and investment group Fosun announced that the company’s Atlantis Sanya project will be completed by the end of the year and the luxury resort built for nearly 11-billion-yuan will be launched in October 2017. The Atlantis Sanya project is the company’s latest move in the tourism industry after Fosun inaugurated Club Med Sanya in April 2016.

The giant project is located at Haitang Bay of the Hainan’s most southern city Sanya. With a footprint of 530,000 square meters, Atlantis Sanya consists of hotel accommodation, entertainment, catering, shopping, performances, high-end properties, MICE venues and an aquatic culture experience center. The resort will also feature 807 apartments and 197 villas, targeting global property buyers.

Fosun announced in October 2013 that it had tied up with South African resort developer and operator Kerzner to build the Atlantis Sanya resort in Hainan’s southernmost city Sanya. The island city’s received 15 million visitors in 2015 and, generated RMB 30.23 billion in tourist revenue that year, which was 12.1% higher than the year before. Atlantis Sanya is one of only three Atlantis resorts in the world. The Atlantis Bahamas contributed around 5% of the archipelagic state’s GDP per annum and the Atlantis Dubai generated more than USD 600 million operating revenue and registered an occupancy rate of 88% in 2013.

Fosun dipped into tourism investment in 2010 and set up Fosun Tourism in 2013, and have since made tourism expansion one of the company’s core strategic areas for development. The company brought in progressive operation experience by global acquisition of international tourism companies.

Fosun acquired a 10% stake and two board seats in French resort operator Club Med in 2010 and nearly fully acquired the latter for EUR 960 million in 2015. Club Med later launched four resorts in China – in Yabuli town of Heilongjiang province, Dong’ao Island in Zhuhai city, southern tourist city Guilin and southern island city Sanya. Fosun has also formed a joint venture with British tour operator Thomas Cook in 2015.

The conglomerate also bought 1.97% shares of China’s CITS for RMB 512 million in 2013 and became the third-largest stakeholder of the state-owned travel operator. (Translated by Jerry)